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passes away with the first word。  When sharply



spoken to; she was apt to lose her head at once; but



her heart was of the kindest。  She had never been



heard to express a dislike for a single human being;



and she was tender to every living creature。  She



was devoted to Mrs。 Smith; to Mr。 Smith; to their



dogs; cats; canaries; and as to Mrs。 Smith's grey



parrot; its peculiarities exercised upon her a posi…



tive fascination。  Nevertheless; when that outland…



ish bird; attacked by the cat; shrieked for help in



human accents; she ran out into the yard stopping



her ears; and did not prevent the crime。  For Mrs。



Smith this was another evidence of her stupidity;



on the other hand; her want of charm; in view of



Smith's well…known frivolousness; was a great rec…



commendation。  Her short…sighted eyes would swim



with pity for a poor mouse in a trap; and she had



been seen once by some boys on her knees in the wet



grass helping a toad in difficulties。  If it's true; as



some German fellow has said; that without phos…



phorus there is no thought; it is still more true that



there is no kindness of heart without a certain



amount of imagination。  She had some。  She had



even more than is necessary to understand suffer…



ing and to be moved by pity。  She fell in love un…



der circumstances that leave no room for doubt in



the matter; for you need imagination to form a



notion of beauty at all; and still more to discover



your ideal in an unfamiliar shape。







〃How this aptitude came to her; what it did



feed upon; is an inscrutable mystery。  She was



born in the village; and had never been further



away from it than Colebrook or perhaps Darnford。



She lived for four years with the Smiths。  New



Barns is an isolated farmhouse a mile away from



the road; and she was content to look day after



day at the same fields; hollows; rises; at the trees



and the hedgerows; at the faces of the four men



about the farm; always the sameday after day;



month after month; year after year。  She never



showed a desire for conversation; and; as it seemed



to me; she did not know how to smile。  Sometimes



of a fine Sunday afternoon she would put on her



best dress; a pair of stout boots; a large grey hat



trimmed with a black feather (I've seen her in that



finery); seize an absurdly slender parasol; climb



over two stiles; tramp over three fields and along



two hundred yards of roadnever further。  There



stood Foster's cottage。  She would help her mother



to give their tea to the younger children; wash up



the crockery; kiss the little ones; and go back to



the farm。  That was all。  All the rest; all the



change; all the relaxation。  She never seemed to



wish for anything more。  And then she fell in love。



She fell in love silently; obstinatelyperhaps help…



lessly。  It came slowly; but when it came it worked



like a powerful spell; it was love as the Ancients



understood it: an irresistible and fateful impulse



a possession!  Yes; it was in her to become haunted



and possessed by a face; by a presence; fatally; as



though she had been a pagan worshipper of form



under a joyous skyand to be awakened at last



from that mysterious forgetfulness of self; from



that enchantment; from that transport; by a



fear resembling the unaccountable terror of a



brute。 。 。 。〃







With the sun hanging low on its western limit;



the expanse of the grass…lands framed in the coun…



ter…scarps of the rising ground took on a gorgeous



and sombre aspect。  A sense of penetrating sad…



ness; like that inspired by a grave strain of music;



disengaged itself from the silence of the fields。



The men we met walked past slow; unsmiling; with



downcast eyes; as if the melancholy of an over…bur…



dened earth had weighted their feet; bowed their



shoulders; borne down their glances。







〃Yes;〃 said the doctor to my remark; 〃one



would think the earth is under a curse; since of all



her children these that cling to her the closest are



uncouth in body and as leaden of gait as if their



very hearts were loaded with chains。  But here on



this same road you might have seen amongst these



heavy men a being lithe; supple; and long…limbed;



straight like a pine with something striving up…



wards in his appearance as though the heart with…



in him had been buoyant。  Perhaps it was only the



force of the contrast; but when he was passing one



of these villagers here; the soles of his feet did not



seem to me to touch the dust of the road。  He



vaulted over the stiles; paced these slopes with a



long elastic stride that made him noticeable at a



great distance; and had lustrous black eyes。  He



was so different from the mankind around that;



with his freedom of movement; his softa little



startled; glance; his olive complexion and graceful



bearing; his humanity suggested to me the nature



of a woodland creature。  He came from there。〃







The doctor pointed with his whip; and from the



summit of the descent seen over the rolling tops of



the trees in a park by the side of the road; appeared



the level sea far below us; like the floor of an im…



mense edifice inlaid with bands of dark ripple; with



still trails of glitter; ending in a belt of glassy



water at the foot of the sky。  The light blur of



smoke; from an invisible steamer; faded on the



great clearness of the horizon like the mist of a



breath on a mirror; and; inshore; the white sails of



a coaster; with the appearance of disentangling



themselves slowly from under the branches; floated



clear of the foliage of the trees。







〃Shipwrecked in the bay?〃 I said。







〃Yes; he was a castaway。  A poor emigrant



from Central Europe bound to America and washed



ashore here in a storm。  And for him; who knew



nothing of the earth; England was an undiscovered



country。  It was some time before he learned its



name; and for all I know he might have expected



to find wild beasts or wild men here; when; crawling



in the dark over the sea…wall; he rolled down the



other side into a dyke; where it was another miracle



he didn't get drowned。  But he struggled instinc…



tively like an animal under a net; and this blind



struggle threw him out into a field。  He must have



been; indeed; of a tougher fibre than he looked to



withstand without expiring such buffetings; the



violence of his exertions; and so much fear。  Later



on; in his broken English that resembled curiously



the speech of a young child; he told me himself that



he put his trust in God; believing he was no longer



in this world。  And trulyhe would addhow was



he to know?  He fought his way against the rain



and the gale on all fours; and crawled at last



among some sheep huddled close under the lee of a



hedge。  They ran off in all directions; bleating in



the darkness; and he welcomed the first familiar



sound he heard on these shores。  It must have been



two in the morning then。  And this is all we know



of the manner of his landing; though he did not



arrive unattended by any means。  Only his grisly



company did not begin to come ashore till much



later in the day。 。 。 。〃







The doctor gathered the reins; clicked his



tongue; we trotted down the hill。  Then turning;



almost directly; a sharp corner into the High



Street; we rattled over the stones and were home。







Late in the evening Kennedy; breaking a spell



of moodiness that had come over him; returned to



the story。  S

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